John Frank Stockman was a man who is not easily forgotten. The Marcus Hook native was a corporal in the Marines and perished in a helicopter crash on Nov. 18, 1970, during the Vietnam War.

Until recently, though, Stockman and his service to America had been mostly overlooked. Sure, his name is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Panel W6, Line 69.

But like the thousands of names on that wall, and the thousands more who returned home, there's a story. One of those Vietnam veterans who came home was Cliff Leonard, who lives in Jacksonville, Fla.

Leonard, who is retired, served in Vietnam during Stockman's first tour and knew him then. Leonard now makes sculptured busts of fallen war heroes. He started with veterans who had served in the Middle East.

When it came time to consider Vietnam veterans, Stockman was one of the first names Leonard considered. He likes to take the busts, which are made of clay and then painted in bronze, and present them to families as mementos.

While Stockman, who was 27 when he died, does have two sisters -- Frances Howarth of Marcus Hook and Diana Ferguson in Louisiana -- the current plan is to present the bust to Stockman's nephew, John Ferguson, who was named after Stockman.

John Stockman also had two children, Joseph A. and Magelia Marie, but John Ferguson said he has not been able to locate them and attempts by the Daily Times to locate Joseph A. Stockman were unsuccessful, as well.

While John Stockman's family life was somewhat cloudy, the kind of Marine he was came through clearly with descriptions by men who served with him in Vietnam.

"He and I had a lot of similar qualities," said Leonard, who served with Stockman in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967. "We were real easygoing and were good talkers. But we were serious out in the weeds. But he was well liked. You never like your officers and stuff, but all the grunts, as we called each other, were pretty close. There are a lot of people who are saying he was my best friend."

Stockman served three tours of duty in Vietnam, something almost unheard of back then. A 1961 Eddystone High School graduate, Stockman was recommended for the Navy Commendation Medal and the Purple Heart and his battalion was recommended for a Navy Unit Citation.

Stockman went on that third tour despite the urgings of his sister, Diana.

It was on that tour that began 42 years ago last Thursday that he was a part of the Marines' 1st Reconnaisance Battalion Unit.

Stockman was part of a seven-man group called Team Rush Act.

The group perished when the CH-46D helicopter lifting the group from a jungle on Quan Nam mountain in South Vietnam crashed, killing 15 in all, including everyone in Stockman's unit, the helicopter crew and Lt. Col. William Leftwich, the commanding officer of the 1st Reconnaisance Battalion.

Accounts of the accident say a major reason for the helicopter's crash was extremely poor visibility due to it being monsoon season. Usually, extractions of recon teams were not done under such conditions, but one of Team Rush Act's members, Doc Daniels, had suffered a broken leg and the team was calling for an emergency extraction.

One Marine familiar with what occurred during the accident is Dana Zuber, who was the radio operator for that battalion. He had trained the Team Rush Act radio operator, Gary Hudson, who perished in the accident, which was the third attempt to extract Team Rush Act.

"This has haunted me for so many years, that very well could have been me there," said Zuber, who lives in Las Vegas. "The pilot should have turned left, but he turned right. I think he got a bit of vertigo. The sun had recently set."

"To be in recon (or even the pilots who transported us) John Stockman had to be one tough SOB," said Chuck Fenwick, who was also in 1st Recon in Vietnam. "He thought in terms of 'we' instead 'me.' Most of the time when soldiers or Marines are surrounded and outgunned it is considered a bad day. In recon, if you are not surrounded and outgunned, then you are not in the right place. Sometimes, he would have to run for hours to keep from being overwhelmed by a superior force which had discovered him."

Stockman, also known as "Long John Silver" to his fellow Marines, was the patrol leader of Team Rush Act, a responsible position that required the trust of the men who were with him.

"He was a guy I looked up to," Zuber said. "He had a lot of time in the unit and a lot of time in the bush. He was a born leader. We all followed and all looked up to him. He had a good sense of humor and was very direct. He would believe in the task and get the task done.

"He was very professional in his nature. We felt confident with him when we went on patrol because he had a lot of experience. He was a natural teacher, too. There were a lot of scared young guys, and a guy like Stockman took you under his wing."

Part of being taken under Stockman's wing was enjoying the lighter moments he supplied back at the base, which was 22 miles from his final patrol. The intensity of spending days behind enemy lines, was often contrasted by Stockman with his practical jokes after they returned.

"You had to be quiet out in the bush," said Roy Rogers, who served with Stockman in 1967 and 1968. "You would have to do a lot of hand signals and stuff to communicate. Then when we would get back into our area, he would just turn crazy. Not in a bad way, but he would love to have fun."

According to those who knew him, Stockman would regularly lead a card game. He also was known for doing goofy things, like once shaving a cross into his hairy chest. Then before going on patrol, it was announced that if a patrol returned with an enemy soldier, they would get some rest and relaxation at China Beach. Stockman's patrol did just that, and along with the R&R, Stockman and the group celebrated by getting Mohawk haircuts.

"I was in a recon company and I think I was there before John got there," Rogers said. "He was in another platoon and transferred in. He was the life of the party after he showed up. I was a young kid and had never seen nothing like John Stockman."

John Ferguson suspects those personal connections made with the Marine Corps drew his uncle back to Vietnam. While Ferguson wasn't born until 1974, he does have several letters from Stockman that he has read.

"He was gung-ho and all about the Corps," Ferguson said. "He lived and breathed and died the Corps. He would do anything for anyone of those guys. That's why he went back. My mom said he was restless when he was home. He stayed with them between tours and she tried to talk him out of going back."

That Diana Ferguson was not able to do that remains, according to John Ferguson, one of her worst memories. But according to one expert, talking John Stockman out of going back to serve with his brothers in the Marines would have been next to impossible.

"In my opinion, he would not likely have changed his mind," said Frank Mancuso, a Marine and Vietnam veteran who is a licensed professional counselor at the Center for Christian Counseling and Relationship Development in Marlton, N.J. "After serving his country and his appetite, whatever that was, on his first tour, John knew what he was getting into.

"I spent time in foxholes with a couple of Marines who volunteered for a second and third tour of duty. Their stated reasoning was rank advancement and accompanying pay. But on the psych side of them and me, one is most alive when death is close by. Some of them have a thrill-seeking personality and combat can easily provide a series of thrills or highs."

Mancuso also pointed out that returning to what was once a normal lifestyle in the United States can be equally as difficult.

"It is one thing to go from barbecues to war, but it is another to go from war to barbecues," Mancuso said.

While John Ferguson is eager to have a bust of the uncle he never met, Mancuso said it may take an emotional adjustment for John Stockman's sisters to accept it, especially initially. Mancuso added that it may be helpful in the long-term. Leonard said he hopes to have the bust completed in September.

"Having a bust of the deceased family member will probably be met with quiet resistance, unless they are ready to make peace with it all," Mancuso said. "Perhaps in time, the family will find his representation an honor and tribute to his memory, as well as help them come to terms with a long-lived grief."